Envision Resilience works to advance innovative planning and design in the face of climate change through student and community partnerships. The new National Design Studio Grant is for university-affiliated design studios focused on community-centric, adaptive design solutions addressing challenges related to climate change. 

The National Design Studio Grant provides meaningful funding to universities and professors offering design studio courses in departments of architecture, regional and urban planning, landscape architecture and environmental design. Faculty running fall 2025/spring 2026 studio programs can apply for grants up to $15,000. Successful studio proposals will outline a unique approach to developing short- and long-term interventions and visions for climate futures for the benefit of the selected community through thoughtful engagement and collaboration with community members.

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The National Design Studio Grant expands on the Envision Resilience Challenge, the signature program of Envision Resilience now in its fifth year, that convenes multidisciplinary student teams of architects and landscape architects, urban and regional planners, environmental scientists and artists to reimagine and propose creative and adaptive solutions to the current and future impacts of climate change in communities throughout the Northeast.

WHO CAN APPLY 

Faculty from public and private universities and community colleges offering studio courses in architecture, landscape architecture, urban or city planning and environmental design

Design studio courses must include a framework and/or an approach that emphasizes collaborative partnerships, whether new or existing, with communities and their key stakeholders in rural, urban or mid-sized communities; consider the natural, ecological, social and built environments collectively; and focus on responses to to ecological degradation, a clean energy transition, housing scarcity and affordability, circular food systems, transportation, environmental justice and urban heat. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Faculty should submit an application via Slideroom. All applications are reviewed to see if they meet our basic eligibility requirements:

• Studio courses must be community-centric and lead to adaptive design solutions that address challenges related to climate change

• A description of the communities where the studio will be located, as well as the engagement practices that will be utilized

• CV for the lead professor (or professors) 

• Course syllabus 

• Sample portfolio of past faculty-led student work (< 10 MB) 

• Proposed budget for how the grant will be spent  

• A commitment to document the studio in the form of a studio report, shared with the Envision Resilience team at the completion of the semester 

USE OF FUNDS

Grants of up to $15,000 can be used to cover the costs associated with facilitating studio classes, such as: 

• Travel expenses for students and professors to visit local communities

• Additional staffing costs for TAs to support the studio 

• Honorariums for guest speakers and lecturers 

• Course materials that are not otherwise provided for students

APPLICATION CRITERIA 

Successful applications for the National Design Studio Grants will include:

• Interdisciplinary collaboration within a single studio is encouraged and will be prioritized

• A unique approach to developing short- and long-term interventions and visions for climate futures for the benefit of communities through thoughtful engagement

• A commitment to training the next generation of design practitioners in interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration 

• Holistic approaches to complex challenges and transformative designs that respond to accelerating environmental changes

• A prioritization of graduate-level studios due to the advanced nature of the required deliverables, which requires more than foundational design skills

• Plans to feature innovative graphics and communication strategies in final deliverables, including a studio report, utilizing a variety of accessible and engaging media formats tailored to resonate with the local community

• While we expect proposals that address communities throughout the U.S., we are also open to studio courses that have an international focus

GRANT TIMELINE

• Interested faculty leads should submit an online application via Slideroom

• Application Opens Monday, September 8, 2025

• Proposal submissions due Friday, October 3, 2025

• Recipients announced November 17, 2025

• Studio Reports Due to Envision Resilience by March 2026 for fall studios and August 2026 for spring studios